The Idaho Chamber Alliance has come out in favor of increased vehicle registration fees to pay for transportation improvements. The group, which includes 20 chambers of commerce from all around the state, also has endorsed continued GARVEE bonding and local-option sales taxes to allow communities to fund transit or road needs. Chambers around the state have surveyed their members, said alliance Chairman Jonathan Coe, and there’s strong support for the registration fee hike to address Idaho’s transportation funding shortfall.

The alliance presented its legislative agenda to lawmakers at a well-attended legislative luncheon today. In addition to the transportation issues, it included support for urban renewal agencies, a constitutional amendment allowing “ordinary and necessary” projects to be funded without a vote, and increased funding for professional-technical education. “These are the kinds of things that will help our individual communities continue to thrive and grow,” Coe told lawmakers.

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